A year on from Queensland’s summer of natural disasters, the positive legacy is the volunteering spirit that swelled across the state. This spirit brought friends, neighbours and complete strangers onto the streets with shovels, hoses, tools, and food to help with the clean up.
Less obvious was the army of people working behind the scenes providing emotional support to those in need or logistical support to progress the clean-up operation.
For those on the receiving end of such generosity, it gave them a renewed sense of community support. For the volunteers, the experience demonstrated that they could freely give their time and experience — and it felt good! Many of us who had strangers shovelling mud out of our homes are now reconnecting and giving back to our local communities.
We can be confident now in facing the summer and what it might bring knowing that we can do seemingly impossible things because we really can rely on each other. Resilience is about being prepared, having your emergency kit and cleaning up your yard. It’s also knowing that your community is with you, and that you are ready and willing to pitch in too.
It would be a truly invaluable legacy of last summer if we could think about volunteering on a regular basis. As we all enjoy the holiday season with friends and family, think about those who could do with a hand, and consider giving the gift of time to your community.
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